Tsunami Death Toll Soars Over 100,000

30 December 2004 -- More than 125,000 people have died in the Asian tsunamis and the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that some 5 million people in the Indian Ocean basin have been affected.

The WHO said that at least 300,000 people have been injured and need medical care.

International organizations are struggling to limit the damage from exposure, disease, and lack of food and potable water in the hardest-hit coastal areas.

Thousands of people -- from local fishermen to foreign holidaymakers thought to have been in the stricken areas -- are missing. Official and unofficial websites have been set up to try to match survivors with those searching for them.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called today for "an unprecedented response" to the "unprecedented global catastrophe." He said that the world's response has been good so far and that $500 million in aid has been given or promised.